Dragoon Legends: Prologue
by Xavier G. Richardson
Summary: Three hundred and twelve years have passed since the final climatic battle with Melbu Frama. A new evil has arisen and the Dragoons are needed again. (Note: very few of the game's characters are here. So you know.)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Legend of Dragoon. Somebody else does, NOT me. They get much respect for an excellent video game. I repeat, LOD is NOT mine. Got it? Good. To the story! Right now! Why are you still here? Down lines with you! Late.

Chapter 1

Kerbris, a nearly black-eyed man of average height and slim build with shoulder length raven hair, stood alone at the ruins of the Divine Tree. He walked down into the blast crater and thought,_ It has been 312 years and this place didn't change much at all from the maps of the area_. Near the center, something glittered. _What is that?_ he thought. In the dirt and rubble appeared to be a ruby and a dark purple gem. Suddenly, a rumbling shook the entire crater. A creature actually seemed to be rising from the center of the blast crater. _Impossible_, Kerbris thought. However, because the ground under his feet was proving unsteady, he scooped up the gems and ran up the blast crater. He almost didn't make it. He got to the top just as the crater collapsed in on itself and the creature finished rising from the center. The dark purple gem in Kerbris's hand began to glow brightly. He heard a female voice in his head say _Go on, use it_. _But I don't know how_ he replied. The voice said _Yes, you do_. With that, magical energy poured out of the stone, enveloping Kerbris. The energy coalesced into armor and wings. Kerbris drew his saber and flew at the creature. Drawing closer, he saw the creature clearly for the first time. It was of a vaguely human shape, but with the left arm elongated and swollen until it touched the ground. The other arm was shriveled, emaciated and seemingly useless. The legs were not visible. Then Kerbris looked at the creature's face and saw the face of a Wingly who didn't just leave a mark on history; he beat it nearly to death. The face belonged to the infamous Melbu Frama, scourge of ancient humanity and the direct cause of the Dragoon Campaigns. Then Kerbris knew exactly what it was. It was the Virage Embryo that ended the second Dragoon Campaign when it was defeated and thought killed. Then it spoke in a creaking way, like that of a rusty hinge, "You cannot hope to defeat a god." Yelled Kerbris, "Why can't you just be silent and die!" . He slashed the Virage Embryo repeatedly from top to bottom, seemingly having no effect. He tried it again, to no avail. After dodging a blast of dark gray-colored energy that was close enough to singe his hair, he became aware of someone speaking in his mind. _Use a spell_, the voice inside his head said as he dodged another swipe from the Embryo. _Oh, right_, he replied. A sphere of dark energy grew on the point of his saber. It grew quickly to the size of a house. He threw the ball of energy at the Virage Embryo. It hit causing the Virage Embryo to be knocked back. "Dark Shot!" Kerbris called out. He drew his fingers from the handle to the point of his saber. When he reached the point, the dark energy sphere detonated. When the smoke cleared, the Virage Embryo was a tattered hulk hanging on by one hand to the edge of the yawning pit from where it emerged. Kerbris swooped down and cut off the hand, sending another Dark Shot as a going-away present. The resulting explosion laid waste to the area and destroyed what was left of the World Tree. Kerbris collapsed exhausted on the edge of the new blast crater, his Dragoon powers spent.

Kerbris awoke in a place he had never seen before. He sat up and looked around. He saw a woman seated nearby. "Excuse me miss, but where am I?" he asked. She answered "Why, Ulara of course. Where else would you be after passing out in the Barrens? Aside from the afterlife, of course." Kerbris thanked her for her care by saying "I appreciate your care but I must be going." "Oh," she responded "but Charle wants to see you." "Ah, all right then. But I will leave after I see her." Kerbris went to Charle Frama's house and looked around. "Miss Frama? You wanted to see me?" he asked. Charle replied "Oh, dahling how good it is to meet Rosie's heir." "My mother's name is not Rosie. Neither is it my father's. So who are you talking about?" "I wasn't talking about your parents, dear child. I was talking about Rose, the only other Dark Dragoon in history." "How did you know about that?" Charle only smiled mysteriously. "I have my ways." "So you mean, this gem was hers?" "Of course dahling. Who else could it have belonged to?" "This means…I am now the Dark Dragoon?" "You finally begin to understand, dahling." "Okay, I know that I am a Dragoon now. What is that?" "You do know the story of the first Dragoon Campaign, don't you?" "Yes, only children younger than toddlers don't know." "But do you know how those 7 humans gained the power of dragons?" "No." "Let me tell you then. The human leader, Emperor Diaz, had a conversation with the dragons. Now, in those days dragons were everywhere. You couldn't get from one end of the continent to the other without tripping over at least seven on the way. But anyway, Diaz held his conversation and the dragons agreed that we Winglies needed to be dethroned. It was then that the dragons told him of their secret. You see, when a dragon is killed-not dies, is killed-a small gem is produced. It is the dragon's soul and the heart of the Dragoon powers. What actually happens when a warrior transforms into a Dragoon is that warrior and dragon become somewhat one. It is not permanent, as you have discovered, but only a person selected by the dragon's soul-now called a Dragoon Spirit-may use its power." "So this ruby is…" "Yes the Red-Eye Dragoon Spirit." "Whoa…" "You were planning to go now weren't you?" "Uh, yeah." Kerbris left Ulara.

Kerbris entered Deningrad, the capital of the region. _Fanoc should be around here somewhere_, he thought. Kerbris found Fanoc, a long black haired, Japanese-eyed man of slightly below average height and muscled build in the Great Library after looking in the inn first. He walked up behind him. "Still researching your homeland Fanoc?" he asked. "Not this time" he replied. "Dragoons again?" "Just Virages." "Oh. Virages and Dragoons?" "No, just Virages. A Wingly recently wrote this book on the topic." "See you later then." "Indeed." Kerbris left the library. He felt the Dark Dragoon Spirit warm against his skin. He took it out and it shone with a dark light. He took out the Red-Eye Spirit and it shone with a fiery red light. _What is this?_ He thought, bewildered. Then the ground began to rumble.

Kyra, a long brown haired, brown-eyed woman of average height and average build looked at the two shining gems in her hand, one white, and one blue. _Why are the Dragoon Spirits shining now?_, she thought, sitting next to her window in the Crystal Palace. A flash of something outside caught her attention. Something was smashing through the house two houses behind the house on the opposite side of the Great Library. As it climbed out of the hole in the ground that it had created, she saw that it was a Virage.

Kerbris blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real. _That can't be a Virage, just can't be. It's impossible._ But he knew that if it was real-and it was-he, a Dragoon, would have to fight it. He began to transform.

Kyra spotted the unmistakable Dragoon transformation effect as she went through the Palace doorway. _Now that's impossible._ She knew that there still were Virages buried underneath Deningrad. How many was unknown. But to see a Dragoon that wasn't Jack transforming to attack it? That was impossible. But it didn't matter. What mattered was the Virage. She started to transform. A brilliant white energy wreathed her body. It coalesced into the armor and wings of the White Silver Dragoon. Drawing her twin swords, she charged into combat.

Kerbris dodged another swipe from the Virage and slashed again. _This isn't working_, he thought. He hit it with a Dark Shot. The Virage staggered and attacked again. A thought occurred to him. _Thanks, Rose._ He darted forward and plunged his saber into the Virage. The Dragoon powers kicked in and the saber started drawing life force from the Virage. When the saber was fully charged, he pulled it out, leaving no visible damage. He then slashed out the charged life force diagonally, from upper right to lower left, calling "Astral Slash!" The explosion widened the hole in the ground to the house opposite the library's back doorstep.

Kyra was going to plunge in swords first, but thought better of it and started a spell. She linked her swords at their bases and began to twirl them above her head. As she reached top spinning speed, a tornado of white energy sprang into existence around her and went all the way down into the hole. Suddenly she broke the connection between swords and pointed them at the Virage and called "Holy Tornado!" The white tornado headed straight for the Virage.

As the white tornado enveloped the Virage, Kerbris flew up very high and tossed a Dark Shot down the tornado towards the Virage. The resulting explosion lit up the daytime sky like a second sun and shattered the library's windows. When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the Virage. _It's not over,_ Kerbris thought. He was right. Another rose up through the floor of the library, Fanoc on its back, _still reading_. "Hmmm…" said Fanoc, looking down. "I will assume this book is on permanent loan then." He put the book in the sack on his back and drew his katana. He then _ran down the body _of this second Virage. Kyra linked her swords for another Holy Tornado and felt a cool sensation in her palm. She looked down and discovered that it was the Sea Dragoon Spirit. It shone with a characteristic brightness. _That can only mean that the next Sea Dragoon is around here_, she thought. She looked around and saw that Fanoc was the only non-Dragoon in the area. Kyra threw the Spirit at him and when it was close enough, called "Sea Dragon! Awaken your powers now!"

Fanoc looked up at the sound and snatched the aquamarine stone that was flying at his face. The aqua-colored energy of the Sea Dragoon transformation surrounded him. He understood instantly what it was and relaxed himself further. The energy coalesced in to the armor and wings of a different Sea Dragoon than history had ever recorded. The armor was heavier, more like the armor of a samurai than the armor of Meru, the Wingly Sea Dragoon history remembered. Fanoc smiled. _This will be entertaining_, he thought, and flew into the fray.

Kerbris gladly flew off to the side as Fanoc went to attack. He landed near the entrance to Deningrad and transformed back to normal. It was not because he wanted to but he took the chance to sit on the steps to the cathedral pathway and rest. _Man,_ he thought, breathing hard, _being a Dragoon is hard work._ His whole body was sore and tired. His back was especially sore and tired at the corresponding place on his skin where the wings were attached to the armor. He heard the sound of an explosion so he looked at where it came from. It was from, no surprise to Kerbris, the location of the fight.

The explosion was the result of another of Kyra's spells, Lunar Storm. She had landed, planted her swords in the ground, and raised her hands to the sky. Brilliant white energy shot from her fingertips up to the sky were the moon was, suddenly darkening it to night. As the energy touched the moon, it lost all upward motion and fell on the second Virage. Then the sky lightened back to day as Kyra picked up her swords and flew back up. The spell nearly ended the fight. What finished the second Virage was Fanoc's powerful stroke through its head. He called it Tenken (pronounced tenk-ken).

Kyra took the lead in introducing Kerbris and Fanoc to Selena, her Queen the next day. "Queen Selena?" "Yes?" "These are the two warriors who aided me in stopping those two Virages who emerged from the depths." "Ah. I humbly thank you for aiding Kyra in that matter. But the people thank you for saving them. Had it not been for you, Kyra would have been defeated and my people left to the nonexistent mercies of those Virages." Fanoc, who had been in the presence of royalty before, spoke. "You are most welcome Your Majesty. It was our pleasure." Kerbris, who had not, managed to mumble a "No problem, ma'am". The Queen favored them all with a dazzling smile as they went out.

They sat in the temporary housing allotted to the innkeeper in the Palace until he could have a new inn built. Kerbris spoke first. "So, what do we do now?" "I am afraid I do not know" replied Fanoc. Kyra suddenly spoke up. "I just remembered. There is another Dragoon in this day and age." Kerbris was interested. "Who is it?" he asked eagerly. "Jacob, King of Serdio." Fanoc raised his eyebrows. "Fascinating. Is it the direct descendant of Albert?" "Why, yes. How did you know?" "Part of my research. I have come across Albert's name many times in the course of tracking my ancestry. Fanoc saw the astonishment creeping onto their faces and said "No, no. I am not royalty. It is just that my family history is tied with Serdio's." Their faces showed interest. "That is a story for another day, however. Miss Kyra, do tell us about King Jacob." "Ah, yes, of course. He is… a good friend of mine although I'll deny it to my last breath. He _is_ the Jade Dragoon but not because he was strolling around someday and found it. He inherited it from his father as his father before him. That Dragoon Spirit has been passed down for generations ever since Albert had it take the place of the Moon Gem that was stolen by Lloyd. He is charming and noble, but…he is just so aggravating! Always so confident, as if nothing could hurt him. Ugh!" She threw her hands up in disgust. Kerbris smirked. "Sounds like love to me. Right, Fanoc?" "Indeed." Kyra shot them both looks of death and stormed out, muttering something about seeing them there. The two friends shared a moment of laughter-Kerbris hysterical, Fanoc chuckling-and then followed.

"Kyra, how good it is to see you!" cried Jacob, King of Serdio. Jacob was tall, six and a quarter feet at least and blue-eyed and short blonde-haired. His well-developed muscles were clearly visible through his shirtsleeves. Kyra ignored his enthusiasm. "I'm here on the behalf of the two behind me. Their names are Kerbris and Fanoc. Kerbris is the taller idiot one." "You mean you came all this way just to introduce me to new people? That is one of the flimsiest excuses I have ever heard." "They are _Dragoons_, Jack." That one word stopped Jacob cold. His face grew serious. "Dragoons? So, the time has come then. Very well let's go then." Kyra was thrown off her stride. "W, what?" "Ah, I forgot. You don't know about my ancestor Albert's orders to the rest of his line. They were, and I quote, 'if the Dragoons come to you seeking the Jade Spirit, give it to them immediately.' Well _I_ think he wanted the Dragoons who would come to have the Spirit so they could have the Jade Dragoon. But since I am the Jade Dragoon, I will go with you." Kerbris and Kyra stood there, stunned. Fanoc spoke up. "I will assume that you are an experienced Dragoon?" "Yes, I am more experienced than Kyra, actually." Kyra flushed at that. "Good. Now we can go." "One more thing," said Jacob. "Call me Jack."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: For the disclaimer, see Chapter 1. Please, oh please, give a review. Or two. Or twenty. I don't care. Just review me. End of story.

Chapter 2

They went to Ulara to consult with Charle about why the Virages awakened. It was Kyra's idea. "Charle was of a good amount of assistance to the other Dragoons and invaluable to Rose during her 11,000 year plus life. Plus she told them about the first Dragoons and Melbu Frama, her brother." The others had agreed. Now, sitting in Charle's parlor, Kyra found she couldn't speak. The words just wouldn't come. Fanoc spoke for her. "Miss Charle, I am afraid that two Virages attacked from under Deningrad and have done it grievous damage but were defeated by Kerbris, whom you know, Kyra, the lady of our party and myself, Fanoc. Our other companion here, Jack, was not present. There is no apparent reason why these Virages awakened. We would like to know if you had an idea of why the attack occurred." Charle, for once, did not reply. Fanoc continued. "Please, Miss Frama, if you know anything, do tell us." "Well…" Fanoc gave her one of his rare incredible smiles and she blurted "It has to be my nephew Merli. He is the son of my brother Melbu. He was came by here yesterday to try and recruit some of the people here for his group. He wants to restore his father's honor and resurrect the Wingly Empire." Everyone-including Fanoc this time-was shocked. Jack found his voice. "Where did he go?" "There is a Wingly colony in the forest south of Deningrad. Most of them have moved to Neet, but a few are still left there. He said he was going there." Kerbris and Fanoc spoke in unison. "Let's go there." Kerbris had a question. "Can we fly there?" Kyra answered "You and Fanoc don't have enough endurance yet." "Endurance?" Fanoc wanted to know. Jack told him "In the beginning, you can only remain transformed for a short time because your mind and body are not used to the strain. In essence, being in Dragoon state is tiring if you're not used to it." The four left Ulara on foot.

They entered the Wingly village, Kyra in the lead. There seemed to be no one around. Kerbris remarked on this. "Where is everybody?" The others didn't know. Jack had an idea. "Why don't we split up and search for people." Everybody else thought this was a great idea.

Fanoc moved around in his assigned area, his experienced eyes scanning ever nook and cranny. His area was the very back of the village. His warrior sense was telling him something was wrong here. He came across a faded circle with designs in it and recognized it from his research. It was a Virage summoning circle. He began to run for the others.

Jacob noticed a similar circle in his area, the left. He studied it, not remembering the design. It came to him as the world seemed to explode in light.

Kyra was worried as she searched the front of the village. It was just too quiet. Waaaay too quiet. A few steps away she saw the ground light up in a circle. She drew her swords and began to transform as something stepped out.

Kerbris was confused. There really seemed to be nobody here. He stopped for a moment a scratched his head then he saw something familiar. It was the Dragoon transformation effect, but it was gold, not blue or green or white. The thought that there was another Dragoon here and as yet had not been seen, scared him. He tried to calm himself by thinking that he/she was just unsociable, but it didn't help. He transformed and got his saber up just in time to block the male Golden Dragoon's sword stroke. "Hey!" Kerbris said, "What are you doing?" Then there was no more time to talk as the man attacked furiously, slash after slash.

Fanoc stopped dead as he felt more than heard the igniting of the circle behind him. He whipped around and saw the Virage step out of its summoning circle. He drew his katana, transformed and flew up to dispatch it.

Jack stepped back and shook his head from the dazzling light coming from the circle. He backed up another few dozen steps as he realized what the circle actually was. He pulled out his lance and transformed. Jade energy writhed about him in tornado form as more jade energy inside the tornado coalesced into armor and wings. He split the jade energy tornado with his lance and it dissipated.

Kyra staggered from a spell from her Virage and slashed it again. She flew around it like a stinging insect, slashing away. Then she got an idea. She landed right on top of it and performed Lunar Storm. The explosion catapulted her through the air to a rough landing on one of the stone roads. She blacked out, her armor fading away.

Kerbris was franticly blocking the Golden Dragoon's attacks, looking for an offensive opening and finding none. Then it hit him. He flapped his wings and flew up and backwards. His opponent smiled, thinking he was running, and dashed up after Kerbris. Kerbris stopped and reversed direction abruptly catching his opponent by surprise. Astral Slash was performed. The Golden Dragoon hit the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, an expression of complete and total surprise on his face. Kerbris looked around for another opponent and finding nothing but the Virages his fellow Dragoons were fighting, landed. He turned off his Dragoon powers and sat down and rested. He barely even looked up when Kyra performed the Lunar Storm on her opponent.

Fanoc was growing irritated. The Virage he was fighting was not showing the effects of the horrible amount of damage he had inflicted. So he decided to throw caution to the winds and use his best attack as a samurai. He floated to an even position with the body and head of the Virage, and disappeared then reappeared behind it so that they were back to back. While he was not visible, Fanoc slashed the Virage more than a thousand times. He whipped around in a powerful diagonal slash that, while out of range, produced a wave of blue energy that sliced clean through the Virage, calling "Rao's Vengeance!" The Virage fell apart in to several pieces. Fanoc, exhausted of all energy, slammed into the ground. He transformed back to human after hitting the ground. He was not even semi-awake when Kyra performed Lunar Storm.

Jack had just finished destroying his Virage when Kyra performed Lunar Storm. He had driven his lance deep into the creature's head and then kicked the lance so that it popped out the other side. He then sent a powerful wind into the hole that was created, widening it until the Virage split in half. The pain from the steadily widening hole had paralyzed the Virage. Hearing the explosion, he glanced in its direction and saw Kyra flying like a rag doll. He flew over to where she landed at top speed. Midway, he spotted that her Virage was still alive. _First things first_, he thought and changed course for it. He saw that its head/body was holed like Swiss cheese. He sliced bigger all the small holes and sent in wind to finish the job by ripping the Virage apart. With that bit of business finished he flew over to Kyra.

Kerbris blinked. He saw his defeated opponent's armor fading away. The Golden Dragoon Spirit lay on the man's chest. Kerbris forced himself up and tottered over to when the former Dragoon lay. He picked up the Spirit and was contemplating it as he passed out.

Kyra woke up in a fluffy bed with a killer headache. She tried to sit up and instantly regretted it. The world grayed for a moment so she lay back down. Without moving her head, she looked around, seeing only Jack leaning against a wall, sleeping, with his spear beside him. Kyra smiled. '_Devoted, isn't he?'_ spoke her Dragoon mentor in her mind. _Quiet, you_, she replied. '_Just because I was an _evil _Wingly is no excuse for rudeness.' Blah, blah, blah. So much talk from a dead person. 'Politely blow it out your you-know-what, dearie.' Shuddup, I'm going back to sleep._ Kyra slept.

_Clang! Clang!_ Kerbris and Fanoc were practicing with each other. "You know," said Kerbris, "this is great. We should do it more often." Fanoc only nodded and sliced again. Later, when they were done, Fanoc went out in search of a good restaurant and Kerbris just walked around on the streets of Neet where the group had gone to rest up and take stock. Kerbris walked and walked. He became aware that the pouch on his waist had become warm. He kept the Red-Eye and Gold Dragoon Spirits in that pouch. He opened up the pouch and there was the Red-Eye, shining bright as can be. He began to worry that Deningrad was happening again, but the other Spirits were dark. He thought about it and realized what only one shining meant. Kerbris looked around trying to find the new owner of this spirit but with no luck. All he saw was the Wingly population of Neet. He held the spirit out and began to follow the path it made by growing brighter when going the right way and dimming when going the wrong way.

Ghenga, a broad brown-eyed tanned 7foot woman with short black hair tied in a ponytail, sat in the local tavern feeling bored. She started when a dark-haired man came in carrying a gem that was shining so brightly that it was almost blinding. "What the?" she said. The dark-haired man responded "This is yours. Take it." "What?" Ghenga was still clueless. The man pressed it into her palm. "Uh, there you go. Enjoy? I dunno." "Who are you?" "Kerbris. You?" "Ghenga." Two new voices spoke up in her mind. One identified itself immediately as Dart, but said that it would allow the other, who Dart called Zieg, to assist her. It then was quiet. The other voice told Ghenga all about what was going on in the space of five seconds. Ghenga suddenly knew that this was Kerbris standing in front of her and that something was wrong.

Fanoc knew something wasn't quite right. The wrongness danced at the periphery of his warrior sense, teasing that everything was fine when it wasn't. He gritted his teeth. What was going on?

Kyra woke again, headache gone, with her Dragoon mentor screaming at her. _'Get up, get up, get up!' Oh, what is it you old bat. 'Is that how you address your early warning system?' I was sleeping, you know. 'No time for sleep when evil's come to town.' What? What do you mean? 'Just that there's an evil wind blowing and you're dead in the path of it. I'd get out of the way, if I were you.' Fine, fine, you win. I'll get up and see what's the matter._ Kyra got up, wincing from the now lessened headache and saw that Jack had slumped to the floor during his nap. She dressed quickly. _'Don't forget your weapons, dearie.' Yeah, yeah._ She strapped on her sword belt and stepped outside.

Jack heard the door shut and awoke. His warrior sense screamed at him that something was wrong, very wrong indeed. He glanced over to the bed and was shocked to discover that Kyra was gone and she had gone armed. Jack got up and worked out the kinks, took his lance and was out the door.

Kerbris dashed outside, the new Red-Eye Dragoon hot on his heels. He looked up and saw a human figure dressed in some seriously strange armor fly by. It was green and black-Virage colors.

A few seconds later, Fanoc saw the same figure plow into a two-story building and explode straight up out of the ruins like something divine. Fanoc's ire grew. He drew his katana and transformed. He followed the figure through the air.

Kyra was further away than Fanoc when the building was leveled, but she drew her swords and transformed anyway. She followed Fanoc.

Jack had spotted a _different _figure flying in the same direction. As he watched its left arm formed into a barrel. Jack realized what it was doing too late. The blast carved a path down the center of a line of houses and shops. Jack transformed and flew up to attack.

Kerbris and Ghenga ran away from the tavern as it was destroyed by a third figure. The explosion flung them a few feet. Kerbris was dazed for a moment. "What in Soa's name is going on?" Ghenga wanted to know. Kerbris shook his head to clear it and replied "Vengeance." He drew his saber, transformed and flew toward the third figure, leaving a befuddled Ghenga behind.

Fanoc chased his figure through the sky, his wings looking more like jet boosters than actual wings. He noted than the figure had spotted his pursuit so Fanoc sped up.

Kyra landed, now knowing that she could never catch Fanoc, much less the guy he was chasing. "Nice try" spoke an upper-class voice from behind her. Kyra whirled around. The voice belonged to a Wingly gentleman, dressed as such. "Who are you?" hollered a frustrated Kyra. "Oh…, just your executioner." The Wingly transformed into the now familiar green and black armor. Kyra prepared for battle.

Jack brought his lance against his female opponent's yet again. He had tried to get past her defense, but so far was having no luck. She appeared to be as good as he was. And that was beyond good. In fact that was straight into the land of true greatness. It was such a pity he had to kill her. They broke from their fast lance fighting. His opponent called "What's the matter? Are you tired?" Jack didn't reply. Instead he generated a massive wind by aiming his open hand in his opponent's direction. She struggled to keep her place in the air. Next, Jack created a wind of the exact same speed from the exact opposite direction. His opponent was trapped in between powerful winds. Jack turned around and closed his fist, calling "Crusher Typhoon!" The two winds intensified, crushing his opponent to the thickness of a dime. Jack opened his hand and the winds ceased at once, dropping his flattened enemy to the ground below.

Kerbris clashed with the figure that was his opponent. He slipped left and felt his opponent's sword glance of his armor as his own saber skipped off the foe's armor. Both Kerbris and his opponent were completely surprised when there was a flash of red from below.

Fanoc had finally caught up to his foe and had begun fighting. The fight seesawed back and forth from one to the other with neither of them having a clear advantage. Fanoc snarled, in full battle frenzy, and tried a Tenken. His katana bounced off. He snarled again. They broke from fierce combat and Fanoc summoned a tsunami behind him. The tsunami rose over Fanoc and he merged into the middle of it, posed with his katana at his side in slashing position. The tsunami rushed at Fanoc's foe. The top of it froze into a massive blade that was razor-sharp. As it grew closer to the figure, more of the tsunami froze. The blade smashed into Fanoc's foe, splitting it in half as Fanoc himself called "Cleaving Tsunami!" from inside the attack.

Kyra retreated more under her "executioner's" furious double sworded attack. She fought back when she could, which was proving to be not often enough. So, she employed a dirty tactic—she kicked her opponent in the crotch. Unsurprisingly, he went down. Kyra backed off a few yards, and then performed Holy Tornado. Seeing that he had survived, she performed Lunar Storm. Her would be executioner lay in the middle of a ravaged circle, armor singed and dented. Kyra landed next to him. "MY executioner? I don't think so," she said. Following that statement, Kyra planted both of her swords in his head and neck.

Ghenga was on fire. She could tell that Kerbris couldn't believe his eyes. As he watched the fire solidified into the armor and wings of the Red-Eye Dragoon. Ghenga picked up her ax and flew up to join Kerbris.

Kerbris quickly regained his composure and struck at his opponent, but his saber actually bounced off. The left arm of the figure morphed into a barrel. It aimed it at the approaching Ghenga. Kerbris's eyes widened.

Ghenga saw the massive shot coming at her. She chopped it down the middle, shattering the blast into harmless small pieces. She then proceeded to bury her ax head in the top of the figure. That proved to be a mistake as the ax chopped something important and the figure's armor detonated, sending both Ghenga and Kerbris flying.

Kerbris smashed through a window and landed on the second floor of a house. He shook his head to clear it. He looked out of the gaping hole when the window had been and spotted Ghenga picking herself up from the ruins of the front of the tavern. He darted over to her and brought her along to meet the others.

When everyone was together and in human form, Kerbris spoke first. "Everyone, this is Ghenga, the new Red-Eye Dragoon." No one else spoke. "Come on, introduce yourselves." Fanoc was first. "I am Fanoc. It is good to have another Dragoon on the team. Welcome." Jack was next. "Well, I'm King Jacob of Serdio but around here I'm just Jack." Kyra was last. "The name's Kyra. Nice to meet you." Ghenga responded in her husky voice. "Thank you everyone. I am so happy to be a part of the group." Jack had an idea. "Let us go to Bale Castle in Serdio. The harvest festival is coming and I never miss it. It will be a good chance to relax and plan our next move." Everyone agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Yup. That's right. Two updates at once. Neat, huh? Don't get used to it, though. Once again, review! Or Fanoc and Kerbris will get you.

Chapter 3

The Royal Tailor's name was Mike. Kerbris sighed as Mike measured him. "Do I have to dress up?" "Yes, you do" came the reply from Fanoc, who was standing just out of the way. "Then why aren't you up here?" "I, unlike most others, carry my formal wear with me." "You're aggravating, you know that?" "You _have_ mentioned that before." "Arrghhh!" "Please don't fidget." Mike warned. Kerbris grumbled some more as Mike kept measuring.

"Hey, could somebody zip me?" Kyra asked. A lady-in-waiting stepped forward and performed the task. "Thanks." Kyra observed herself in the mirror. _'Not bad.' Who was asking you? 'You, believe it or not.' I doubt it. 'Doubt it all you want, dearie. I know you wanted my opinion.' Arrghhh! 'Don't be mad just because I know you better than you know yourself.' I am _not_ mad. 'Whatever you say, dearie.' Ohhhh, I hate you. 'That's ok. I don't mind a bit.' _Kyra made a rude noise. _'There is no need for that kind of language.' Go back to whatever mind hole you crawled out of. 'Fine, fine, I'll go. I do like the dress, though.' _Kyra sighed. _I better not have to wear high-heeled shoes._

"Daddy, the royal parties are so _boring_. I don't want to go." These words came from the mouth of a green-eyed, brownish red haired teenage girl of slightly below average height and well-fleshed build. Jack, who was standing next to her, replied "Adumi, sweetie, I know you don't like the royal parties and normally I wouldn't dream of asking you. But Kyra has come and she has brought some like her and I. Adumi's eyes grew wide. "You mean, Dragoons?" "Yes, my daughter." "Ohhh, I can't wait! Page? Where's my best dress? I need it for the party tonight." Jack left his daughter arguing with several servants as to the location of the dress in question, a smile on his face.

Fanoc stood in the main ballroom looking out the window in his "formal wear". It was a man's kimono with ocean designs on it. Ghenga sidled up to him. "Yes?" he said. She replied "I am…uncomfortable with this." Fanoc turned and looked at her. She still wore her traveler's clothes. "Ah, I see. You want some clothes for the evening." "Yes, yes, I really need some." "I will get Mike. He should enjoy this. Wait here." Ghenga did as she was told. Fanoc came back with Mike, the Royal Tailor. "Here is your subject, Mike. Take her to your studio and create." Mike was ecstatic. "The best subject ever. Ohhhh, I am just so happy. Come, come, we have work to do." Ghenga glanced at Fanoc, who nodded, and started to leave with Mike. "Mike?" Fanoc called. "Mmmm, yes?" "Please direct her to a lady-in-waiting who is good with makeup when you have finished." "Of course, of course." They left and Fanoc resumed looking out the window.

The night of the party had finally arrived. Kerbris and Fanoc stood outside the door to the main ballroom. Kerbris straightened his dark purple shirt again and glanced down past his black pants at his shiny black shoes nervously. Fanoc merely tightened the bindings that held his hair in a ponytail. Ghenga's head came into view on the stairs and the rest of her slowly appeared as she climbed. By some miracle, the giant woman was looking sharp in a red dress that left nearly everything to the imagination. Kyra was right behind Ghenga, surprisingly well dressed in a long white and blue curving vertical striped skirt with a white shirt. Kerbris whistled. "Wow, ladies. Mike pulled off a miracle and a half." Kyra's face darkened. "Who's the miracle?" Fanoc answered before Kerbris could bury his foot further down his throat. "He meant that Mike did a good job on the two of you." Kyra shot him a look that froze the air on its way by. Kerbris suggested that they go inside. The rest agreed so fast that he found himself the first in by way of pressure from the rear.

After the initial speech by Jack, Kerbris found himself on the sidelines drinking wine. On the dance floor, various lords, ladies, and assorted royal personnel swung around in whatever dance they were dancing now. He noticed Jack dancing with some young redheaded girl and Fanoc leading for the incredibly embarrassed Ghenga. Kerbris felt out of place as he watched Jack twirl his partner around. The current song ended and Kyra walked off the floor and leaned next to Kerbris. "Are you alright? You haven't danced at all." "I'm fine. Just got no one to dance with." "Not for much longer." Kyra pointed a few feet down the wall at a group of five middle-aged women who were doing their best to pretend that they weren't looking at and not inching their way closer to Kerbris. Kerbris put his hand over his eyes. "Crap. I've been spotted by the hunters." Kyra giggled. "Don't worry. I'll save you from them." Kerbris grinned and led her onto the dance floor just in time for the next dance, leaving his wine goblet behind.

After the dancing, came the feasting. Kerbris noticed that the same girl Jack had danced with was sitting on his right. _Strange_, he thought, and got back to eating.

After the feast, Fanoc stood on the balcony, thinking about memorable meals from his past. "Hey, you." Those words interrupted his reverie. He turned around. The words had come from a redheaded girl with eager green eyes. "Yes?" Fanoc said. The girl spoke again. "Are you with Kyra?" "Partly. Why do you ask?" "Well, first, my name's Adumi and, second, Daddy said that the new Dragoons came with Kyra. I wanted to talk to them." Fanoc smiled. "Yes, child. I am a Dragoon." Adumi's eyes grew more eager. "Tell me all about it." Fanoc proceeded to do so, answering her questions when he could and referring her to Kyra when he couldn't. This took a while. Eventually, Fanoc ran out of answers. He said so. Adumi looked upset. "Aw, man. I thought there was more to it than that." Fanoc raised his eyebrows. "There may be more. I just do not know it." A servant appeared on the balcony. Adumi frowned. "I have to go now." She left with the servant. Fanoc turned back around. He knew who Adumi was, even though she didn't tell him. Fanoc had seen an uncanny resemblance to Jack in her face. She was none other than Princess Adumi of Serdio.

In the morning, Jack called the other Dragoons to see him. He stood on the throne platform, Adumi seated beside him. "Thanks for coming" he said. Kerbris recognized the girl next to Jack as the girl he was dancing with. _Who is that girl?_, he thought. Fanoc merely looked at Jack and Adumi. Kyra smiled at Adumi, but not Jack. Ghenga looked at Jack and the redheaded girl that she had never seen before that stood next to him. Jack continued. "The girl next to me is my daughter Adumi, in case any of you were wondering. She wanted to meet you, so…" _Oh, that's who she is_, Kerbris thought. Fanoc raised his eyebrows. "Of course" he said. Kerbris looked nervous. Kyra looked at him. "Afraid of a girl, are you?" she said. "No, not at all" Kerbris said quickly. "Alright then." Kerbris was the first to be peppered with questions from Adumi. He looked uncomfortable the whole time. Ghenga was the second and Kyra was the last. Both of them took it well. During Ghenga's peppering, a messenger came in and spoke to Jack. Jack left with the messenger, but was came back just as Kyra's was ending. "Alright people," Jack said, getting their attention, "Adumi, leave." Recognizing her father's tone, she did as she was told. "I have just received a message from Merle Frama. He challenged us to find him. Problem is, he is on a different continent." Everyone except Fanoc stared in shock. Jack continued. "We leave from Helena Port in five days. Get ready, this is going to be a ride. I'm borrowing the _Queen Fury III_ for this." Jack grinned. "Oh, yeah, baby." They left the excited Jack in the throne room.

Fanoc and Kyra stood on the deck of the _Queen Fury III_. Kyra wondered aloud where the others were. Fanoc said nothing. A little later, Kerbris strolled aboard. He and Fanoc spoke briefly. Fanoc left the main deck, headed for amidships. Kerbris took his place beside Kyra. They talked. Ten minutes later, Ghenga passed unnoticed by both of them. The departure signal sounded. Jack came from amidships to tell them to get inside. They did so. The _Queen Fury III_ left Helena Port with no one having noticed that Adumi had stowed away on board.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Back again. For the disclaimer, see Chapter One. Gooch, I need examples, man. Jezzi, It's just my style. Okay, I lied. I like to keep the chapters as short as possible. Besides, I tightened it up some along the way. Once again, review! (By the way, I'm thinking of posting to Fictionpress. Tell me what you think.)

Chapter 4

_The sea air is always invigorating_, Fanoc thought. _It has been over seventy years since my grandparents came across here, and yet it is just like their stories of the journey._ He smiled. _I know the others think I like to be alone too much. It may be true. Mother always said I didn't socialize enough._ He stood in the high crow's nest, his hands clasped behind his back. It was night. He heard someone on the access ladder. He turned to face the current manner of the low crow's nest. "Yes?" Fanoc said. "King says go to sleep" said the crewman breathlessly. "Alright, I will." Fanoc climbed down, the crewman on his heels.

Two days into the journey, the ship stopped suddenly, knocking over drinks interrupting Kerbris's card game with some of the crew. The Dragoons rushed to the bridge. "My Soa" said Jack as he looked out the bridge window. Fanoc raised his eyebrows in astonishment. Kerbris and Kyra stood completely still, stunned from the shock of the sight. Ghenga looked resigned to things going bad again. Their reactions were understandable. A single massive tower and several smaller towers jutted out of the sea in front of the _Queen Fury III_. The massive tower had two horn-like projections on the top of its sides and a gaping hole in front, above the waterline. _Ghenga_, of all people, made the suggestion that they go inside. So, taking a dinghy, the Dragoons went to the gaping hole and peered inside. There was no water in the tower. In fact, the bottom of the hole was not the floor. The tower's floor was only a few feet from the bottom of the gaping hole. The Dragoons climbed in and began to walk around and explore. Inside the tower was like a massive purple cave with stalactites and stalagmites dotting the floor and ceiling. "Welcome!" cried a voice from above. All the Dragoons looked up and saw fourteen Winglies dressed in the same armor from Neet. They instantly drew their weapons and transformed. The figure who had spoken briefly looked surprised. "I thought there would be more of you." he said. Kerbris looked at him. "Sorry to disappoint." "Oh, it's no problem. Just means there's more of my warriors to go around. Now, my warriors, attack!" The transformed Dragoons rushed into combat.

Kerbris was barely able to fend off his two attackers' initial rush. They came at him like they were more monster than Wingly. Every time he got one off of him the other would be there. His saber moved like lightning to counter the sword strokes of his opponents. Kerbris suddenly realized he was fighting only one of the two. He had a brief moment to wonder why when the Powerful-class fire spell exploded on him like a bomb.

Fanoc was, somehow, winning against the three Winglies attacking him. _This is going nowhere._ Beating them off of himself once again, he landed and planted his katana in the ground. His attackers flew at him. Fanoc smiled and stretched out his arms at them. Coldly blue energy shot from his gauntlets into his enemies, freezing them solid. They hit the ground. During the blast, he called "Frozen Gauntlet!" Afterwards, he calmly withdrew his katana from the ground and struck each frozen Wingly once, shattering them.

Kyra was drawing even with her three Winglies. _Now would be a good time for that other magic technique. 'Dahling, its not an attack spell.' What? 'Sorry, but it isn't. I remember wishing it was, though.' No time now, got to concentrate._ Until now, Kyra was purposely on the defensive. She now switched to the offensive. Her foes were surprised and she managed to cut one down before the other two adapted. _Can I summon the Dragon, then? 'Hmmm…maybe. I know that I could, by this time. But you're a different person than me. So…' Well, let's try._ Kyra called out "White Silver Dragon!" At first, nothing happened. Then Kyra and her foes were enveloped in off-white light energy field. Inside, the White Silver Dragon appeared and obliterated the Winglies with a shot from its back-mounted cannons. It then proceeded to unnecessarily heal Kyra. The light energy field disappeared. Kyra landed ungracefully in a heap, her armor vanishing.

Jack fought. There was no other word for it. Jack just fought. He returned blow for blow and strike for strike. When his Wingly opponents tried magic, he matched them there too. One by one, all three of his opponents fell to the ground, dead. Jack landed, panting and sat down to rest a bit.

Ghenga brought the battle to the enemy, felling one of her two with a mighty axe chop. The other hesitated for a moment, shocked at the sudden death of his ally. That instant was all Ghenga needed to dash up and remove her remaining opponent's lower body with a whirlwind awe swing. She landed clumsily, her armor dissolving off in downward streaks of fire. Before she dropped to the floor from sheer exhaustion, she saw the others still fighting.

Kerbris blinked. And realized that while he was unconscious, his swordsman instincts had kept him blocking the majority of the blows directed against him. He shook his head to clear the fog caused by the spell's concussive force and began to fight again.

Fanoc glanced up and saw Kerbris fighting. _Once again he is in over his head._ Fanoc performed Frozen Gauntlet again.

Kerbris's eyes widened in shock as his two opponents froze solid. Then, glancing over, he saw Fanoc nod at him. He nodded in thanks and shattered the icy Winglies with a blow each.

The lead Wingly screamed in frustration and rushed at Fanoc, intending to kill him. Fanoc calmly stepped to the side and beheaded him with an authoritative downward stroke.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this took so long. Computer was on the fritz. receives death glare from cast And I'm kinda lazy. glares back So there. Don't forget, I need reviews! Or Fanoc will get you.

Chapter 5

They arrived at the port town. Kerbris found out the name of it was Rotordam from one of the people who gathered to gawk at the _Queen Fury III_. Everyone spent the night at the inn to reaccommodate themselves to land. In the morning they gathered in the inn's lobby for breakfast. After breakfast they set out, Jack in the lead. Some time passed. Fanoc increased his pace until he was beside Jack. "We are being followed." Jack seemed interested. "Oh really?" "Indeed." "For how long?" "Since we left Rotordam." "Alright then." Jack stopped walking. The others wanted to know why the stop had occurred. Jack didn't answer them but said "Adumi, you can come out now. No need to skulk around like a thief." Adumi, wearing green scale armor the same length as the former Dark Dragoon Rose, appeared at the back of the group and was looked at by everyone. "Dad, how'd you know?" Jack grinned "I can't tell you, you'd use it against me." "Oh, rats." The group continued on with no further interruptions.

The group had made camp for the hot part of the day under a convenient large tree. Kyra, Adumi, and Ghenga were in deep conversation. Fanoc stared off at the horizon. Jack munched on some dried fruit while Kerbris napped against the tree's trunk. Two figures, a man and a woman observed this. Both appeared to be Winglies, although the woman's eyes were a cold blue instead of the usual Wingly wood flame color. The man was dressed in black pants with a sleeveless purple shirt and belt. The woman wore a sandy brown leather arm-and-leg-less low-cut bodysuit with gloves to her elbows and boots to her knees of the same material. The woman spoke. "That's them, then?" The man smiled. "Yes, Dusk, that's them. Wanna go over and say hello?" "I'd rather not, thanks." "No problem at all. Guess I'll have to do it then." "You better not, Nathan." "And why is that?" "Let them fight this next battle. After all, they're still alive." "You know as well as I do that the battles they have had so far were newbie stuff in comparison to what's to come." "Yeah, but this time we get to watch." "You have a point, lady. Let's pull up a chair." The man-Nathan-waved his hands and two chairs appeared next to them. They sat. The woman-Dusk-had one more thing to say. "We will help them if they get in trouble, right?" Nathan only smiled.

At the group's campsite, Fanoc turned to Jack. "The next battle has arrived." Jack stood. "I know. Wake Kerbris. I'll tell the others." Fanoc woke Kerbris while Jack told Kyra and Ghenga and made Adumi leave the area. Suddenly a large group of Winglies wearing the same armor as before swooped down out the sky. The Dragoons transformed drew their weapons, and flew up to meet them.

Kerbris clashed swords with one of his numerous foes. He felt several spells glance off his armor. He would have been surprised, but there was no time. There was no time for even thought. Civilized, rational human being gave way to pure savage survival instinct. Many, many weapons struck Kerbris, many, many times but they all failed to penetrate the Dark Dragoon armor. The man known as Kerbris had become a fighting machine rather than a mere swordsman.

Fanoc dodged around several energy blasts and parried yet another blade attack. He didn't even bother to see what type of blade it was, just batted it away. He screamed and all his foes backed off a bit. It was the last mistake they would ever make. Fanoc sheathed his katana and held out his right hand palm up. A blue energy ball appeared there. He clenched the hand into a fist and said, "Crystalline Assault!" A sword of ice crystal appeared in the hand and Fanoc struck seemingly only once. All of Fanoc's foes looked at him like he was insane and charged. Fanoc only smiled as the foes, with a look of complete and total surprise on their faces, crumbled into powder. The ice sword shattered when he opened his hand. Drawing his katana again, he rushed to find some new foes.

Kyra was spinning in a Holy Tornado, her foes lost in the whirling energy vortex of the spell. She stopped spinning and her foes reappeared amongst the clearing area. They looked dazed, so Lunar Rain came next, followed by much slashing and their deaths. Of course, more foes were forthcoming.

Jack finished off his second group of attackers. He looked around and saw a massive Dragoon transformation effect. "No…" He breathed.

Ghenga was fighting harder than she had ever fought before. She managed to break away and land. The gem in the center of her breastplate glowed brightly and Ghenga yelled with the strain. A giant fireball pushed itself out from the gem. She punched it and it split into innumerable smaller fireballs. She called "Flameshot Blitzkrieg!" when she punched. Each smaller fireball immolated one of her foes and the rest destroyed the second group of foes who would have attacked her next. She sat down and rested.

Kerbris finished off his first group on foes and hit the rapidly approaching second with a Dark Shot. The one who remained charged, but Kerbris cut him down with a lightning fast series of strokes. He landed and saw Jack yelling something at him. _What's he saying? Look out?_ "Look out for what?" Jack pointed and Kerbris moved. He wasn't fast enough. The Divine Dragon Cannon clipped him and sent him hurtling far away, unconscious.

Fanoc clove his last foe in twain and checked on Kerbris, only to see him hurtling away, clipped by the Divine Dragon Cannon. Fanoc's eyes tracked the blast to its source, and he charged.

Kyra saw what was going on, but was far too into the all-consuming business of staying alive to do anything about it.

Jack saw Fanoc charge and made a decision. He transformed _again_. This time, the armor was shaped like tornadoes. A tornado up each leg, on each finger and up the forearm. Even the chest armor was shaped like a tornado and all of the tornadoes seemed _to be moving_. Jack's eyes turned green and the Supreme Jade Dragoon transformation was complete. He rushed after Fanoc.

Ghenga saw Fanoc and Jack go after what had blasted Kerbris, so she decided to help Kyra. She flew up and beheaded one, then chopped another in half from the top of his head to his waist. Kyra cut the last down and together they flew to assist the others.

Kerbris opened his eyes. A white haired and blue-eyed woman was looking down at him. A male Wingly was next to her. The Wingly swore and took a step back. A massive bolt of violet lightning struck him, enveloping him. The bolt spent itself and the Wingly was in the armor of the Violet Dragoon. With a quick "Stay here" to the woman he whipped out a trident and flew off to join the fight. The pouch at Kerbris's side glowed. He took out the Golden Dragoon Spirit and looked at it. It shone brightly. The woman took it from him and stepped back. The ground rose up and encased her in a solid soil, clay and rock cocoon. The cocoon held up for a second, then shattered with the force of the woman's poleaxe. She was now attired in the armor of the Golden Dragoon. She flew off after the Wingly and Kerbris's vision hazed and then blacked out.

Fanoc and the Divine Dragoon drew away from their latest clash. The Divine Dragoon's wings shifted and he called out "Divine Dragon Ball!" Numerous balls of energy flew out from behind him. Fanoc managed to dodge several, but then was hit and hit again. And again. And again. He had time to contemplate how much it hurt as the impacts continued. Then Sea Dragoon met ground and Fanoc knew no more.

Kyra saw was happened to Fanoc and resolved to dodge what she could and slice into pieces what she couldn't. It was a good plan, but there were simply too many energy balls. The White Silver Dragoon met ground after several hits.

Jack, being in Supreme Dragoon form, was fast enough to dodge most of them and strong enough to withstand those that did hit him.

Ghenga hid behind her giant axe. Yes, the arm and foot impacts hurt more than she liked to think about, but at least she wasn't getting pummeled like those two.

Kerbris sat up again and saw the Wingly and that woman dodging away. The woman was unsuccessful, and went face first into the dirt. The Wingly, however made it look easy, even though Kerbris knew it was nearly impossible not to get hit. He stood and flexed the wings. He picked up his sword and flew to rejoin the battle.

Jack took a second to look at his fallen comrades, and saw to his horror, Adumi was on the field. He spun around and saw, in that terrible slow motion all such events have, the Divine Dragoon aim his cannon at her and fire. Jack, feeling with certainty his daughter, his only child, was going to die, attacked viciously.

Adumi thought she was going to die. Of boredom. She could hear the clash of weapons, see the Winglies fall dead. When she saw Kerbris going flying, she got worried. After the effects of the Divine Dragon Ball, she resolved to help and ran out to do so. But now, with that huge magic blast coming at her, it seemed like a very stupid idea. She stuck her head between her legs and was about to kiss her butt goodbye when something large and red blurred in front of her.

Ghenga saw Adumi, saw the Divine Dragon Cannon, and moved. She got in front of Adumi and brought her axe up just in time. The Cannon slammed into the flat of the axe with enough force to level a medium sized building. The axe gained a hairline crack. Ghenga turned her head and gave Adumi a weary smile. "Moving might be a good idea, Princess." Adumi moved far faster that one time than any other time in her life. Ghenga returned her attention to the front. She turned the edge of the axe onto the Cannon, saw the crack, opened her mouth to swear, and—

Kerbris stared in horror as the limp form of Ghenga flew past him. The explosion was massive. He scanned the ground and saw Fanoc and Kyra lying motionless. He spotted Adumi and flew down. The explosion had flung her at least thirty feet. He landed. "You alright Adumi?" She nodded dazedly. "Good." Kerbris fell on his butt. "Think I'll wait a minute before I go help your dad." He felt something thump against his armor. He looked. Adumi had passed out against him. _Not how I pictured this going at all._

Jack drew back from attacking with his lance. He twisted his lance until a tornado sharpened immeasurably its point. The Divine Dragoon let loose another Cannon. Jack stabbed into the Cannon with the lance, calling "Tornado Driver!" Amazingly, the spell was pushing back the Cannon. At least, until Nathan arrived.

Nathan was in Supreme Violet Dragoon form, but Kerbris couldn't have known. His armor was crackling with untold millions—maybe even billions—of volts. He opened the hand not holding his trident palm up. A ball of electricity and Wingly magic formed on his fingertips. He twisted his hand around to point the ball at the Divine Dragoon. It fired while he called "Thunder Blast!"

Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, what followed wouldn't have happened. But, this was that one time and it did happen. The Divine Dragoon was hit and a spark jumped to the point where Divine Dragon Cannon met Tornado Driver. The explosion dwarfed anything before, and all but a very select few in the future. Jack and the Divine Dragoon hit the ground. Nathan got clipped and slammed into the ground, stunned.

Kerbris saw it. It woke Adumi. They rose in unison. Adumi looked at Kerbris. Kerbris wasn't exactly in. If Adumi had known more about Rose, she would have known who she was seeing. The Black Monster. It flew off towards the explosion site, saber glowing darkly. It grinned evilly. The Divine Dragoon staggered to his feet. The Black Monster slashed and a hole into another dimension was opened behind the Divine Dragoon. The Black Monster called "Malevolent Blitz" as the hole opened. Unspeakable black tendrils grabbed the Dragoon, with a sizzling sound. He screamed. The Black Monster laughed. It landed two feet from the Dragoon and watched as more and more tendrils dragged the screaming at the top of his lungs Divine Dragoon into the other dimension. A tendril reached out for Jack. Nathan slammed into the Black Monster. The hole closed. Kerbris was back in charge.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry that took so long, but I lost my disks. Got new ones now, though. Well, enjoy! Oh, and review! Or Nathan will get you.

Chapter 6

Kerbris opened his eyes and sat up. He saw the Wingly put down Kyra next to Fanoc, Ghenga, and the woman. Kerbris looked around and discovered everyone's transformations had worn off. Jack was on the ground further away. Kerbris returned his attention to the Wingly. He was searching Kyra. He found what he wanted and held it up in his left hand. It was the White Silver Dragoon Spirit. Kerbris opened his mouth to speak, but shut up when both the Wingly's hands began to glow, the left in brilliant white, of course, but the other in violet. Kerbris looked at Fanoc, Kyra, and Ghenga. This time, he actually saw their terrible wounds. He grimaced in horror and then stared in shock as Kyra's wounds healed and closed up. She sat up. The Wingly handed her swords and Dragoon Spirit to her and spoke briefly. Kyra nodded and walked over to Ghenga. The Wingly repeated the act with Fanoc while Kyra did the same, minus borrowing the Dragoon Spirit. Fanoc and Ghenga got up and took their weapons. Fanoc stepped over to the woman and Kyra stopped by in front of Kerbris. She spoke to him. "Relax, you'll feel better in a minute." Her spirit glowed and she was right. Kerbris stood up and finally spoke. "Thanks. Who's…?" He gestured to the Wingly and the woman. Kyra blinked. "I actually don't know, but they seem to be on our side. That's good enough for me." Kerbris gave her an interested look. "Lost our natural suspicion, have we?" Kyra went defensive. "No, I'm just giving the benefit of the doubt to the guy who _saved my life_." Kerbris raised his hands in surrender, but before he could speak, a scream split the air. The Dragoons turned as one. Jack and Adumi.

Adumi ran to her father. She had hightailed it outta there after Kerbris flew towards the explosion site, but now she ran back at a slightly lower speed than then. She collapsed on her knees at her father's side. Her eyes filled with tears. "Dad…" He opened his eyes. "Adumi, my daughter…How are you?" Adumi's tears spilled out. "I'm fine, Dad. Ghenga saved me." The Supreme Dragoon armor had been erased by the blast and miniscule portion of the blast had reached Jack. His wounds made the others' seem trivial. He managed a typical cocky grin. "We won, right?" Adumi sobbed in reply.

Kerbris was yelling at the Wingly-Nathan, he reminded himself yet again. "Why wasn't Jack first on your healing list, huh? He's got to be the worst hurt!" Nathan looked at him and decided not to tell the truth, that Jack would die even if he were healed. "His wounds were too severe." "No way!" Nathan felt no guilt or remorse. "It is the truth." Kyra and Fanoc had dashed over to Jack at hyperspeed. Ghenga and Dusk-yes, she introduced herself-sat next to each other on the ground nearby. Kerbris yelled some more. "That doesn't mean you give up!"

Kyra was trying her hardest, but the wounds wouldn't heal. Fanoc was trying just as hard beside her. Adumi wept, holding her father's hand. Jack's eyes refocused. "Don't bother with that, Kyra. It won't help." He pulled out the Jade Dragoon Spirit and looked at Adumi. "Take it, the Dragon says you're next." Kyra cried. She had stopped trying. Fanoc had too. Adumi sniffled and took it. The Spirit glowed faintly "Me?" Jack managed a faint smile. "Yes, you." He turned his head to Kyra. "By the way, Albert wasn't my ancestor. He was my father." His hand slipped out of Adumi's grip and Jacob, King of Serdio and Supreme Jade Dragoon, was gone. Kyra turned away and wept disconsolately on the intensely troubled Fanoc's shoulder. The other four felt it too. Kerbris stopped yelling and stared, mouth open. Nathan hung his head. Dusk consoled the crying Ghenga. Adumi stared at the sky, a steady stream of tears running down her cheeks.

The funeral was a private affair. Dusk managed to get a rectangular hole to form in the ground. Nathan, who didn't care in the least about Jack and therefore could touch him without emotional reaction, placed him in the hole. He did, however, keep a sorrowful expression on his face the whole time. Nobody offered to say anything, so Dusk closed the hole.

Kerbris sat down next to Kyra at the edge of camp. He managed to smile at her. "Hey, it'll be all right. In time, you'll feel better in time. You may not want to now, but you will." Kyra turned to him. Her voice broke as she talked. "I, I…don't know how he could…die, you know?" Her voice gained strength. "He wasn't supposed to leave!" The tears started again. Kerbris took her hand and she gained his shoulder and wept.

Fanoc leaned against a tree, deep in thought.

Ghenga stared at the fire. Dusk was next to her. Ghenga would cry no more for this. "Dusk?" Dusk looked at her. "Hmmm?" Ghenga looked back. "You wanna know something?" Dusk's blue eyes danced. "Maybe." Ghenga frowned. "Hey." Dusk giggled. "I'm kidding. Tell me." Ghenga rolled her eyes and solemnly started. "I've always been an outsider, because I'm so big. I never met any of my family. I'm usually too big to fit through doors." Dusk was solemn, too now. "I'm similar. Being albino is a pain." Ghenga continued. "Jack was the first person who actually didn't care about my size. He never mentioned it, like the others, but he was the only one who wasn't constantly surprised whenever I appeared. Kerbris and Kyra mean well, but they can't help it. Fanoc actually looks through me, but he does that to everybody." A grin tugged at Dusk's lips. "Not everyone." Ghenga was surprised. "What? Who?" The grin appeared on Dusk's face. "Kyra, and to a lesser extent, Kerbris." Ghenga was surprised again. "How did I not see that?" Dusk shrugged. "I'm new here, remember?"

Nathan watched her. Adumi, that is. She sat hugging her knees and crying. No sobs, no sighs, no noise at all. Just the tears endlessly flowing. Nathan couldn't take it any more. He marched up. "That's enough!" Adumi didn't change. "I said, that's enough!" She looked up at him wordlessly. At this point, the depth of sorrow in her eyes should have cowed him. Any other of the Dragoons would have been. But not Nathan. He pulled her up to her feet with his left hand and backhanded her with the right. Adumi went back down, surprise on her face. Nathan glared at her. "Yes, I hit you. What are you going to do about it?" Adumi grabbed her lance. "That's what I thought."

Kerbris watched the melee between Nathan and Adumi. Kyra had cried herself to sleep. He held her, not wanting to wake her with this. _Do something, Fanoc._

Fanoc moved within Adumi-defending distance. His hand gripped the hilt of his katana tightly.

Ghenga watched the fight, concern etched on her face. She saw Fanoc move, and discarded plans for a spring. Dusk glanced in the clash's direction and then surveyed the landscape.

Nathan dodged left, then right, jumped to avoid a sweep and brought his trident into play. He slipped the points just underneath Adumi's splint mail and lifted in an arc. Adumi went flying, flipping over and landing hard on her back. She got up.

Kerbris whistled. _Nice launch._ Kyra stirred, but stayed asleep.

Fanoc raised his eyebrows. _He has no intention of killing her. Still, there are always accidents._

Ghenga stared. _Wow. She really flew._ Dusk was observing a lizard crawling across the ground.

Nathan blocked with the tri-pointed end and whacked Adumi in the face with the non-pointed end. She went down like a sack of potatoes and stabbed at him. Nathan blocked and whacked her again, this time in the left side. He felt a rib give and decided there would be no more left side whacking. Adumi gasped and scrambled to her feet. Nathan blocked again and thrust the non-pointed end straight into her belly button. She backed up and fell to her knees, gasping for air. Nathan waited. Adumi came at him again. He sidestepped the attack and swept her feet out from under her with the non-pointed end. Then the tri-pointed end came down.

Kerbris couldn't look. Kyra slept on, oblivious.

Fanoc knew he wouldn't get there in time, so he didn't move.

Ghenga looked away in horror. Dusk had picked up the lizard and was now petting it.

Nathan looked down at Adumi's open eyes. He spoke coldly. "I could have done that at any time. Or worse." Adumi glanced down herself. Her neck was in between an outside and the inside arm of the trident. Cold steel was touching her throat. She moved to attack, but Nathan's foot stepped on that wrist, and the lance fell away from her numbed hand. He kicked it away. "Now, don't you feel better?" Adumi blinked. "I…I do." Nathan smiled slightly. "Hmph. Good." He walked away. Adumi realized something. "Hey! I'm stuck! Get this thing off of me!" Nathan laughed and kept walking, laughing all the way.

Kerbris moved wrong and Kyra woke. She saw and heard Adumi hollering. "What'd I miss?" Kerbris grinned. "Let me tell you all about it. Then you can heal Adumi." "What?"

Fanoc resumed his tree-leaning position.

Ghenga moved to help Adumi, but Dusk placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wait."

Nathan stopped. He raised his hand and the trident pulled itself out of the ground and flew to his waiting hand. He turned around. "Anyone else feel like leaving?"


End file.
